Repose apparatus

ABSTRACT

Systems and apparatus to receive a person in repose is in the present application. The apparatus to receive a person in repose includes a base portion including a top surface, a bottom surface, and two side surfaces. Also, a first relief area and a second relief area each within a sub-portion of the top surface and extending from a side surface to toward a longitudinal axis are included. The first relief area and the second relief area each corresponds to a volume including an adjustable relief apparatus that is separately adjustable from the top surface not within the relief area to provide adjustable relief relative to the top surface that is not within the relief area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Patent Application Ser. No. 62/064,671, entitled “Prego Bed,” filed Oct.16, 2014. The disclosure of the foregoing application is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates to repose apparatus, for example, beds andcouches.

Repose apparatus are used to support one or more people in repose, forexample, a bed, couch, chair, among other types of apparatus andfurniture. While these repose apparatus may support and be comfortableto a general population at large, certain individuals, for example,pregnant women, may find those repose apparatus to be uncomfortable andunsupportive. During pregnancy, for example, when in repose on theirside, women may require different support and repose structure(including surface height) for their abdomen than the rest of theirbody. Consequentially, pregnant women may seek a repose apparatus thatallows them to have different, adjustable support and structure fortheir abdomen.

SUMMARY

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in an apparatus that includesreceiving a person in repose, including a base portion including a topsurface, a bottom surface, and opposing first and second side surfaces,and defining a longitudinal axis that separates the first side surfacefrom the second side surface. Also, included is a first relief areawithin a sub-portion of the top surface and extending from the firstside surface to toward the longitudinal axis, the first relief areacorresponding to a volume including a first adjustable relief apparatusthat is separately adjustable from the top surface not within the firstrelief area to provide adjustable relief relative to the top surfacethat is not within the first relief area. Further, included is a secondrelief area within a sub-portion of the top surface and extending fromthe second side surface to toward the longitudinal axis, the secondrelief area corresponding to a volume including a second adjustablerelief apparatus that is separately adjustable from the top surface notwithin the first relief area to provide adjustable relief relative tothe top surface that is not within the second relief area.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an overview diagram of one implementation of a reposeapparatus.

FIG. 1B is an overview diagram of another implementation of a reposeapparatus.

FIG. 1C is an overview diagram of another implementation of a reposeapparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one implementation of the reposeapparatus of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of one implementation of the reposeapparatus of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of therepose apparatus of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of therepose apparatus of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of therepose apparatus of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of one implementation of the reposeapparatus of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of a reposeapparatus.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of a reposeapparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of another implementation of a repose apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a layout diagram of one implementation of a repose apparatus100. Repose apparatus 100 includes a base portion 110 that includes atop surface 120, a bottom surface 130, and at least two side surfaces140 and 150, in the illustrated implementation. Repose apparatus 100includes at least one relief area, and the illustrated implementationincludes relief areas 144 and 154. In the illustrated implementation,relief area 144 is a sub-portion of top surface 120 and extends fromside surface 140 toward a longitudinal axis 111 across the length of therepose apparatus 100. Likewise, relief area 154 is a sub-portion of topsurface 120 and extends from side surface 150 toward the longitudinalaxis. Although two relief areas are shown, in some implementations, onlyone relief area may be included.

Repose apparatus 100 may be placed upon another repose device, forexample, a mattress, or in some implementations, repose apparatus 100may be a full mattress (e.g., a twin, queen, or king size mattress) orpartial mattress (e.g., half of a queen or king size mattress) with thecomponents described herein. Also, repose apparatus 100 can beconfigured to be a full mattress with one or more relief areas (asdescribed below), thereby providing, for example, a “His-and-Hers”mattress (see FIG. 1C).

Relief areas 144 and 154, in the illustrated implementation, are of asemi-oval shape, but relief areas 144 and 154 may be configured in anyshape including a circle, semi-circle, square, rectangle, among others.Each relief area includes an adjustable relief apparatus that isseparately adjustable from the top surface 120 of the base that notwithin the first relief area so as to provide adjustable relief relativeto the top surface 120. Various types of relief apparatus are describedbelow. Thus, by adjusting the relief apparatus in each relief area, therelief areas 144 and 154 may be of a height equal to or different fromthe height of the top surface 120.

The top surfaces of the relief areas 144 and 154 may be flat, or may beconfigured to slop downward in the direction from the longitudinal axis111 to the edges 140 and 150. As described in greater detail below,relief top surfaces 145 and 155 may thus be flat or parallel with topsurface, or, alternatively, may be angled or curved such that the depthat one point on the surface of the relief areas 144 and 154 is differentfrom the depth in another area of the relief areas 144 and 154.

In some implementations, a depth within the relief areas 144 and 154 inwhich a relief apparatus is located may be approximately three-nineinches less than the depth between the top surface 120 and 130. Also, insome implementations the shape, location, and/or height of relief areas144 and 154 may be different from one another.

In the illustrated implementation of FIG. 1, relief areas 144 and 154include flaps 149 and 159. Flaps 149 and 159 extend from the top surface120 toward side surfaces 140 and 150 over the relief areas 145 and 155.Flaps 149 and 159 may be made of a bed sheet, other types of cotton,and/or other types of material. The flaps may cover a portion of therelieve area, or cover the relief area entirely.

FIG. 1B is an overview diagram of another implementation of a reposeapparatus 100′. In the repose apparatus 100′, the relief areas 144′ and154′ are of a semi-circular shaped.

In FIG. 1C, the repose apparatus 100″ is a full mattress (e.g., a twin,queen, or king size mattress) that is configured for the individualusing the relief areas 144 and 154 to repose on one half (or a portionless than the entire top surface 120 and 120″) of the relief apparatus100″, specifically top surface 120 in the current description. Topsurface 120″ is configured without any relief areas. In otherimplementations, the relief areas 144 and 154 may be on the other sideof the base portion 110 (or both sides of the base portion 110), andfurther in other implementations, only one relief area may be included.

Other configurations and relief area geometries may also be used.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one implementation of the reposeapparatus 100. Each relief area 144 and 154 corresponds to a value inwhich a corresponding relief apparatus is located. In the implementationof FIG. 2, the relief apparatus for the area 144 includes insertelements 246 a, 246 b, and 246 c, and the relief apparatus for therelief area 154 includes insert elements 256 a, 256 b, and 256 c.Although three insert elements are shown, in other implementations moreor fewer insert elements may be used. Additionally, in the illustratedimplementation of FIG. 2, if all three insert elements (e.g., 246 a, 246b, and 246 c) are stacked and inserted into relief area 144, the heightat the top of insert element 246 c is the same as that of top surface120, i.e., the two respective surfaces are flush.

The insert elements may be made of the same material as that of the base120, e.g., memory foam, or some other support material. In someimplementations, the softness and/or material used in a relief area(e.g., insert elements) may be different than the softness and/ormaterial used on the top surface 120 or other areas of the base portion110.

The insert elements may be stacked on top of one another so as toprovide relief for a body portion, e.g., relief for the abdomen duringpregnancy. The number of insert elements that are stacked can thus raiseor lower the height of the top surface of each relief area 144 and 154,thereby providing more or less relief for a portion of a body.

The height of each relief element may vary. For example, in someimplementations, each insert element may be two inches in height orother heights. In some implementations, the height of each insertelement is the same, but in some implementations the height of eachinsert element varies. Insert elements may be placed on top of oneanother, and in some implementations, fasteners connect one insertelement to another insert element. For example, hook and loop fasteners,ties, string, buttons, adhesives, among others may be used to fasten oneinsert element to another insert element, and/or the bottom most insertelement to the relief top surface 145 and 155, or to side walls of thevolumes.

The width of each insert element may be the same or different from oneanother, and in some implementations, the width of the insert elementsis substantially similar to the width of relief areas 144 and 154;however, such a configuration is not required, and insert elements mayhave a width greater than or less than that of the width of relief areas144 and 154.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show cross-sectional views of implementations of reposeapparatus 100 with relief areas 144 and 154 including a change in heightacross the width of relief areas 144 and 154 (relief bottom surfaces 145and 155). As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the height of relief bottomsurface 145 is at a greater height at the innermost relief area 341 thanat outermost relief area 342. The height of relief bottom surface 145reduces as progressing from the innermost relief area 341 to theoutermost relief area 342. Also, in some implementations, the height ofrelief bottom surface 145 may decrease from the innermost relief area341 to the outermost relief area 342 at a particular degree slope (e.g.,45 degrees). However, as shown in FIG. 3A, the decrease in slope mayinclude a convex and/or concave slope.

In alternate implementations, the height of the relief bottom surface145 may increase between the innermost relief area 341 to the outermostrelief area 342. Corresponding inserts are constructed to provideincreasing support extending from the longitudinal axis to the edges ofthe base 120.

Insert elements 346 a, 346 b, and 346 c are included as the reliefapparatus within relief area 144, and insert elements 356 a, 356 b, and356 c are included as the relief apparatus with relief area 154. Thenumber of insert elements may vary, as described with reference to FIG.2 above. In the illustration of FIG. 3A, insert elements 346 a, 346 b,346 c, 356 a, 356 b, and 356 c are substantially the same height and areconfigured to substantially conform to the relief top surface 145 or 155or to another insert element. Other configurations may also be used.

Insert elements 346 a, 346 b, and 346 c may be connected or fastened toone another in relief area 144. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the length ofeach of insert elements 346 a, 346 b, and 346 c is progressively lessthan the insert element below that insert element in the stacking of theinsert elements. Such a configuration causes the height of the topsurface of the relief area 144 near the innermost relief area 341 to beremain at least parallel, or even, with the top surface 120. However,such a configuration is not required and the insert elements may be thesame or different lengths from one another. Insert elements 356 a, 356b, and 356 c may be configures similarly for relief area 154. Anindividual may thus adjust the number of insert elements into reliefareas 144 and 154 until a desired support is achieved.

FIG. 3B shows implementations 300 b, which includes insert elements 346a′, 346 b′, and 346 c′ within relief area 144, and insert elements 356a′, 356 b′, and 356 c′ within relief area 154. In the implementation inFIG. 3B, the top insert surfaces 347 a′, 347 b′, 347 c′, 357 a′, 357 b′and 357 c′ of insert elements 346 a′, 346 b′, 346 c′, 356 a′, 356 b′ and356 c′, respectively, are parallel with top surface 120. Innermostinsert surfaces 348 a′, 348 b′, 348 c′, 358 a′, 358 b′ and 358 c′substantially conform to the location of the relief top surface 145 or155 that the respective innermost insert surface contacts. Also, thebottom insert surfaces 349 a′ and 359 a′ substantially conform to thelocation of the relief top surface 145 or 155 that the respective bottominsert surface contacts, and bottom insert surfaces 349 b′, 349 c′, 359b′, and 359 c′ are substantially parallel with top surface 120. However,such a configuration is not required, and in other implementationsinsert elements may be interchangeable.

A difference between insert elements in implementations of FIG. 3a andFIG. 3B is that when inserting one or more insert elements in theimplementation of FIG. 3A, the height of the relief area (e.g., 144 or154) between the innermost relief area and the outermost relief area(e.g., between element 341 and 342) changes. However, in theimplementation, of FIG. 3B, upon inserting one or more insert elementinto a relief area, the height of the substantially entire relief areais flat or parallel to top surface 120.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show cross-sectional views of implementations of reposeapparatus 100 with relief areas 144 and 154 including a change in heightacross the width of relief areas 144 and 154 (relief bottom surfaces 145and 155). In the implementations of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the relief topsurfaces 145 and 155 are angled at a linear slope where the height ofthe relief top surfaces decreases between the innermost relief areas 441and 451 and the outermost relief areas 442 and 452, respectively.

As seen in FIG. 4A, insert element 446 is of a triangular cross-sectiondefining an apex 447 and a base 448. When insert element 446 is insertedinto relief area 144, the apex 447 is positioned toward the longitudinalaxis and the base is positioned alongside the surface 140. In someimplementations, more than one insert element and other shapes may beprovided. Also, in implementation 400, insert element 456 is of atriangular cross-section defining an apex 457 and a base 458. Wheninsert element 456 is inserted into the volume corresponding to therelief area 154, the apex 457 is positioned toward the longitudinal axisand the base is positioned alongside the surface 150. Moreover, inimplementation 400, upon inserting elements 446 and 456 being inserted,top insert surfaces 449 and 459, respectively, are parallel with topsurface 120 and are of the same height as top surface 120.

As seen in FIG. 4B, in implementation 400′, insert elements 446′ and456′ include a triangular cross-section and are similar to insertelements 446 and 456. Insert elements 446′ and 456′ include apexes 447′and 457′ and bases 448′ and 458′, respectively, and when insert elements446′ and 456′ are inserted into the volume corresponding to relief areas144 and 154, respectively, the apexes 447′ and 457′ are positionedtoward the longitudinal axis and the bases 448′ and 458′ are positionedalong the side surfaces 140 and 150, respectively. However, top insertsurfaces 449′ and 459′ of insert elements 446′ and 459′, respectively,are sloped and upon inserting insert element 446′ and 456′, the topinsert surfaces 449′ and 459′ extending outwardly from the longitudinalaxis decrease relative to the top surface 120 in proportion to adistance from the longitudinal axis. Top insert surfaces 449′ and 459′are linearly sloped, but such a configuration is not required and otherangles, slope shapes, and configurations may be used. The implementationin FIG. 4B provides more of an angled relief for a user than theimplementation in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view along the line B-B′, including reliefarea 144. Side surface 140 is shown along with top surface 120 andbottom surface 130. Relief area 144 may be configured to includedifferent shapes, as previously described. For example, as shown inFIGS. 2, 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B, different shapes and angles may be definedfrom the longitudinal axis 111 to the side surfaces 140 and 150 (e.g.,concave slope, angled slope). Additionally, different shapes may resultacross the width, or otherwise in the parallel direction of thelongitudinal axis 111, of relief surfaces 144 and 154. For example, asurface contour 472 may be included in some embodiments, wherein thedepth at one point on the surface 472 of the relief areas 144 and 154along the line B-B′ is different from the depth in other areas of therelief areas 144 and 154 along the line B-B′ according to a curvature.Coupled with a similar contour along the line A-A′, the volume of therelief area is substantially bowl-shaped.

Alternatively, in the surface contour 474, a box-like shape results wheneach of the walls of the relief area are substantially perpendicular tothe surface 120. In yet another implementation, side walls 476 and 472may be perpendicular to the surface 120, and the bottom surface of therelief area may slope downward from in the direction from thelongitudinal axis to the outer edge of the relief area, i.e., along theline A-A′ of FIG. 1A. The downward slope may be straight or curved.Accordingly, a variety of volumetric shapes may be created by selectingthe corresponding surface geometries of the volume. Once a correspondingsurface geometry is selected, insertions elements for inclusion into thevolume are shaped accordingly, such as described with respect to FIGS.3A-3C.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of a reposeapparatus 500. Repose apparatus 500 includes the base portion 110structure as that shown in FIG. 2; however, such a configuration is notrequired and the structure as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, amongothers may also be used. Repose apparatus 500 includes inserts 546 and556 that may be inserted into relief areas 144 and 154, respectively.Inserts 546 and 556 may substantially conform to the shape of reliefareas 144 and 154. In some implementations, inserts 546 and 556, wheninserted, may be substantially the same height with top surface 120, butin other implementations, such a configuration is not required. Also, insome implementations, inserts 546 and 556 may be substantially parallelwith top surface 120, but such a configuration is not required. Inserts546 and 556 may be of the same softness as top surface 120, but in otherimplementations, they are of different softness. Further in someimplementations, inserts 546 and 556 are a pillow that may be providedin one or more relief area 144 and 154.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another implementation of a reposeapparatus 600. Repose apparatus 600 includes the base portion 110structure as that shown in FIG. 2; however, such a configuration is notrequired and the structure as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, amongothers may also be used. Repose apparatus 600 includes inflatableelements 646 and 656 that may be inserted or otherwise provided into thevolumes corresponding to the relief areas 144 and 154, respectively.Each inflatable element 646 and 656 includes valves 647 and 657,respectively. The amount of air or other substance used to inflateand/or deflate inflatable elements 646 and 656 is controlled throughvalves 647 and 657, respectively. Valves 647 and 657 may be manually(e.g., user controlling or user applying a pump or other mechanism) orelectronically controlled. In some implementations, if the valves 647and 657 are electronically controlled, the valves 647 and 657 areconfigured to be controlled by a control system that monitors thepressure in each inflatable element 646 and 656, respectively, andadjust the volume of inflatable substance (e.g., air) used to inflatethe inflatable elements 646 and 656 in order to keep the volume within acertain range or above or below a certain volume. Also, in the currentimplementation, each inflatable element 646 and 656 is of a volume whenfully inflated to provide support that substantially matches supportprovided by the top surface 120 that is not within the relief area sothat the response apparatus provides consistent support across theentire top surface.

Further, when each inflatable element 646 and 656 are not fullyinflated, the inflatable elements 646 and 656 provide a correspondingvolume that provides less support than provided by the top surface 120.However, in some implementations, the support provided by eachinflatable element 646 and 656 may be different from one another and/ormay provide greater support than top surface 120.

In some implementations, when valves 647 and 647 are electronicallycontrolled, a controller 660 is be included. Connections 648 and/or 658may be included to connect valves 647 and 657 to controller 660.However, in other implementations, there may be a wireless connectionprovided between valves 647 and 657 and controller 660. For example, thecommunication may occur via a cellular network, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, otherLAN or WAN network communication, RF communication, among others.Further, valves 647 and 657 may include sensors, controllers, and/ortransceivers to determine and communicate information to controller 660,as well as control the function of the valves via commands fromcontroller 660. However, in other implementations, controller 660 may beconfigured to obtain information from the valves 647 and 657 and controlthe valves directly, and also be operatively associated with a pumpingapparatus to inflate and deflate the inflatable elements 646 and 656.The locations of valves 647 and 657 may be located on any portion of theinflatable elements 646 and 656, or valves 647 and 657 may be located atany location of the repose apparatus 600 that enables the inflatablesubstance to inflate or be removed from inflatable elements 646 and 656.

Controller 660 may be an independent device or may be provided onanother device or as software enabled to be implemented on a multitudeof devices. Controller 660 may be downloadable as a program orapplication on an electronic device (e.g., mobile device, tablet,laptop, smart phone), or controller 660 may be a separate deviceconfigured to communicate with such a program or application (thecommunication may be enabled as previously described). For example,controller 660 may be configured to be downloaded and controlled on amobile phone.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of repose apparatus 700. Repose apparatus 700includes a base portion 710, a top surface 720, and side surfaces 740and 750. Repose apparatus 700 may include relief areas 145 and 155, asdescribed above. Base portion 710 of repose apparatus 700 may comprisean inflatable element that includes a valve 712, which may be configuredsimilar to valves 647 and 657. The locations of valve 712 may be locatedon any portion of the base portion 710, or valves 647 and 657 may belocated at any location of the repose apparatus 700 that enables theinflatable substance to reach or be removed from the base portion 710.

Each inflatable element 646 and 656 is shown with a corresponding valve647 and 657. Alternatively, a tubular connection may be made betweeninflatable elements 646 and 656 and only one value (either 647 or 657)may be used.

The amount of air or other substance used to inflate and/or deflate baseportion 710 is controlled through the valve 712, and the valve may bemanually (e.g., user controlling or user applying a pump or othermechanism) or electronically controlled. In some implementations, baseportion 710 may be made of a rubber material. If the valve iselectronically controlled (e.g., controller 660), the valve isconfigured to be controlled by a control system that monitors thepressure in the base portion 710, and adjust the volume of inflatablesubstance (e.g., air) used to inflate the base portion 710 in order tokeep the volume within a certain range or above or below a certainvolume. Also, in some implementations, the base portion 710 is of avolume when fully inflated to provide support that substantially matchessupport provided by inflatable elements 646 and 656 so that the responseapparatus 700 provides consistent support across the entire top surface720. However, in other implementations the volume within the baseportion 710 and support provided within the inflatable elements 646 and656 may be different from one another.

Further, in some implementations, one valve (712, 647, 657, or anothervalve) may be configured to control the amount of inflatable substanceprovided within base portion 710, inflatable element 646, and/orinflatable element 656. Additionally, valve 712 may be configured to becontrolled by controller 660 or another controller. Moreover, baseportion 710 may substitute for or be substituted for base portion 110throughout the entire disclosure.

The inflatable elements described in the various implementations abovebe configured in a variety of different shapes, such as describe withreference to the various volumes in FIG. 4C.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular implementations of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate implementations can also be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation can also beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have beendescribed. Other implementations are within the scope of the followingclaims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can beperformed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Inaddition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do notnecessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, toachieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A apparatus to receive a person in repose,comprising: a base portion including a top surface, a bottom surface,and opposing first and second side surfaces, and defining a longitudinalaxis that separates the first side surface from the second side surface;a first relief area within a sub-portion of the top surface andextending from the first side surface to toward the longitudinal axis,the first relief area corresponding to a volume including a firstadjustable relief apparatus that is separately adjustable from the topsurface not within the first relief area to provide adjustable reliefrelative to the top surface that is not within the first relief area;and a second relief area within a sub-portion of the top surface andextending from the second side surface to toward the longitudinal axis,the second relief area corresponding to a volume including a secondadjustable relief apparatus that is separately adjustable from the topsurface not within the first relief area to provide adjustable reliefrelative to the top surface that is not within the second relief area.2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each first and second reliefapparatus respectively comprise a set of stackable insert elements, eachinsert element being of a height that is less than a height of the baseportion such that when the set of stackable insert elements are stackedin the volume corresponding to relief area, a top surface of the reliefarea is of a same height as the top surface of the base portion, andwhen a proper subset of the stackable insert elements are stacked in thevolume corresponding to the relief area, the top surface of the reliefarea is less than the height of the top surface of the base portion. 3.The bed apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one insert element isfastened to at least one side wall of the volume of a relief area. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the base portion includes at least oneflap that extends from the top face over at least one of the firstrelief area or the second relief area.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first relief area and the second relief area are eachsubstantially semi-oval in shape.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, whereineach first and second relief apparatus respectively comprise aninflatable element, each inflatable element being of a first volume whenfully inflated to provide support that substantially matches supportprovided by the top surface not within the relief area, and when notfully inflated provides a corresponding volume that provides lesssupport than provided by the top surface not within the relief area. 7.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each first and second relief apparatusrespectively comprise a set of insert elements, each insert elementbeing of a triangular cross section defining an apex and a base, whereinthe apex is positioned toward the longitudinal axis and the base ispositioned along a respective side surface when the relief element isinserted into the relief area.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein theinsert elements include a first insert element having a triangular crosssectional area such that when the first insert element is inserted intoa relief area a top surface of the first insert element is of a sameheight as the top surface of the base portion.
 9. The apparatus of claim8, wherein the insert elements include a second insert element having atriangular cross sectional area such that when the first insert elementis inserted into a relief area a top surface of the first insert elementextending outwardly from the longitudinal axis decreases relative to thetop surface of the base portion in proportion to a distance from thelongitudinal axis.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bottomsurface of the base portion of the apparatus is configured to be placedon a bed.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a relief top surfaceextending from an innermost relief area to an outermost relief area ofeach of the first relief area and second relief area decreases in heightand is concavely sloped from the innermost relief area to the outermostrelief area.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each first andsecond relief apparatus respectively comprise a set of stackable insertelements, each insert element being of a height that is less than aheight of the base portion such that when the set of stackable insertelements are stacked in the relief area a top surface of the relief areais of a same height as the top surface of the base portion, and when aproper subset of the stackable insert elements are stacked in the reliefarea the top surface of the relief area is less than the height of thetop surface of the base portion.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, whereineach of the stackable insert elements substantially conform to slope ofat least one of the relief top surface and the insert element to bestacked upon.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each stackableinsert element substantially conforms to the slope of the portion of therelief top surface the stackable insert element is configured tocontact.